Something New
by Demon Flame
Summary: Marie discovers that the woman who had taken care of her when she was a child isn't who she thought she was. After her death she sends Marie on a new adventure that she never really expected to happen even in her wildest dreams.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**A few notes before we start. This will be some true blood and some of the book because they both have great parts. Also only the first X-man movie happened as well X-Men First Class because it nicely explains how mutants came into the public's eye. I have not decided on pairings though you can request them if you feel the need. That does not mean I will write them, please refrain from attempting to bullying me into writing a story that goes exactly like you want it to go. If you have opinions on every little thing then please feel free to write your own story. That being said, I do hope you enjoy mine.**

**Also I forfeit any claim in any type of ownership to anything here. **

Marie stepped off the bus into the sweltering heat of Shreveport, Louisiana. As much as she missed the south, she really could do without the humidity considering she had to stay so covered up. She walked with the rest of the passengers into the small greyhound building to pick up a map of the area. In all her travels over the past ten years, she had never been to Louisiana. She had avoided this state and Mississippi after she had run away and most of the south in general.

Walking out of the building, she looked up to see a man in a suit holding up a sign. _Anna-Marie Darkholme._ She hadn't used that name since she was twelve. Uncertainly she walked over to the man, glancing around just in case this was some kind of elaborate trap. When no one sprang from behind a bush she relaxed, a little bit.

"Ms. Darkholme." The man said with a professional air and nod and before she could respond in any sort of fashion, he was shoving a pair of keys and a folded piece of paper into her hands. And then he was off.

Marie blinked and looked down to the paper that had been handed to her. She unfolded it and discovered it was directions to a motel in Bon Temps. It seemed that Irene had planned every little last detail out before her death.

Marie found the little blue Honda in the parking lot and tossed her army green duffel bag in the back seat. She gave the directions a look over and pulled out on to the road. She couldn't shake the feeling that this little adventure was building up to something she really just didn't want to get involved in. It's how all of her adventures turned out. She had the same feeling when she jumped in the back of a trailer in Canada seven years ago.

It only took about thirty minutes to reach the tiny town of Bon Temps and truthfully there wasn't a lot to see. Even Caddelcott hadn't been this small. After only getting turned around once she finally found the dinky little motel and parked next to the front office. The inside wasn't much better than the outside. A greasy old man sat behind the desk reading Jugs, one of the classier magazines.

He looked up when she walked in and his eyes lingered on her breasts and then the white stripe in her hair. "What can I get for you pretty lady?" she said with a slimy smile that showed he was missing several yellow teeth.

"I need a room." She said trying not to look at the dip wadded up in his lip.

He looked down at his desk that was just out of her sight and produced a key and a clipboard. "Just sign here." He said, handing her a key. She scribbled her name down, grabbed the key and left, feeling the grease ball's eyes on her ass the whole way out.

She grabbed her bag and walked to room number two. The room was nothing to write home about, but it was cleaner than some places she had been so she really had no complaints. She dropped her bag on to the bed and made a bee line for the shower. Nothing would be better than a nice cold shower in this heat and then she could fall into the bed and sleep till morning when she would decide what to do next.

XxX

The next morning found Marie dressed and sitting on the bed staring at the letter Irene had wrote to her. The letter had contained many things from small apologies and confessions to an inheritance and a request. The inheritance had been very surprising; apparently Irene had liquidated all her assets and given every last dime to Marie. She had never known that her aunt had had so much money. The request was even weirder as Irene had asked her to visit a woman by the name of Adele Stackhouse in the small town of Bon Temps. The letter didn't say why, it just asked her to do it and who was she to deny a woman her last wish.

With a sigh she located the directions to the woman's house that had been folded up with the letter and left the motel.

It was about a ten minute drive to house from the dinky little motel with not a lot in between. The driveway was about a third of the whole drive, apparently someone valued their privacy. When she finally caught sight of the house she couldn't help but thinking how cute it was and how it would be a nice house to settle down into. Secretly and selfishly she hoped that she was meeting this Stackhouse woman to buy her house. That would be like Irene to make sure she had every last thing she needed.

But that idea was shot down when she saw a blonde about her age sun bathing in the yard. She climbed out of her car and walked up to the house deciding to avoid the blond woman, it was best if she stayed around people with more clothes on.

She waited a moment and listened while the person on the other side of the door moved around. The next moment the door opened to reveal an older woman with shoulder length grey hair. She looked thoroughly shocked to see Marie standing there. "Sookie?" she asked uncertainly.

Was Sookie supposed to be a name?

"Anna-Marie Darkholme." She corrected. "I'm looking for Adele Stackhouse."

The older woman, who she hoped was the Adele woman Irene had told her to meet with, let her eyes travel upward to her hair that she had French braided that morning. She found that it hid the white streak in her hair better. People liked to stare at it, she hated it. It had been present since her birth and no matter what hair products she used she couldn't hide it.

The older woman clapped her hands to her mouth to stifle a gasp and took a few steps back. Marie was starting to think she should leave when the woman's eyes began to tear. She was saved from awkward exit by and handsome blonde man who walked in from another room with a mouth and hand full of sandwich.

"What's wrong Gran?" the man asked looking as confused as she felt.

"Anna-Marie." The woman said in a strangled voice.

The man looked even more confused now and turned to look at her, his confusion doubling in the process. "Sookie?"

What kind of a name was Sookie?

"No, no. It's Anna-Marie." The woman said. "She's come home!" and that was when she flung herself at Marie.

She was so shocked that she couldn't move as the woman wrapped her arms around her. Stiff as a board she turned her wide eyes to the man who had a piece of cheese hanging from his mouth, she wouldn't be getting any help from him. She calmed herself and tried in vain to remove the woman gently from her, but nothing doing as the woman had a death grip on her.

"Who is she, Gran?" the man asked confused.

"Anna-Marie!" she exclaimed through sobs. "It's Anna-Marie, your baby sister!"

Marie was extremely uncomfortable now. She had no idea what was going on and this woman was getting her shirt all wet.

The man was studying her intently now and when his eyes traveled up to her hair surprise took over his pretty features. "Holy shit." He said.

"Please let go of me." She tried, hoping not to sound too mean.

The woman pulled back but didn't let go. Marie could see that the woman's face was equally as wet as Marie's shirt.

"I just can't believe you're back." She said.

"Who's back Gran?" a voice came from behind her.

There was the girl who had been sunbathing in the yard. Marie was completely freaked out now. Before Marie stood her blonde haired blue eyed twin. Marie was starting to feel sick as some of the confusing confessions Irene had made in her letter started to make since.

"It's Anna-Marie, Sook." The man said, cheese still hanging from his mouth.

The woman with the ridiculous name of Sookie went from staring at her face to her hair. Now more than ever she wished she could be a teleporter. They were all staring at her as though she were a dream and that if they looked away she would disappear.

After several tense moments, she finally decided she needed to say something.

"How do y'all know me?" she asked, already knowing and dreading the answer.

Sookie was giving her a strange look, one she had come to associate with telepaths trying to read her mind. Was ridiculously named Sookie a telepath? Were the others mutants as well?

"Oh well of course you wouldn't remember us." The older woman said, wiping her eyes and pulling Marie into the house and then into a living room. The room was just like the outside of the house, old and lived in. "You were barely five months old when you were taken."

Marie was trying to imagine blind as a bat Irene sneaking into her nursery and taking her. The image just wouldn't form.

The woman sat her down on the worn couch and pulled a thick photo album from the bookshelf on the other side of the room. The man and Sookie took seats on the couch opposite her while the older woman sat down next to her and began flipping through the album.

"Here we are." She said and pushed the album into her lap.

In the first picture was a woman in a hospital gown holding a swaddled baby. As Marie looked closer she saw that the baby had wisps of auburn hair with a tuft of bangs. Marie was feeling she really could have gone without this truth for the rest of her life. These people seemed like the touchy feely kind and frankly she just wasn't like that.

The woman showed her a few more pictures and blathered on about random events that made no sense to her. Then she told about how here parents had died in a flood years ago and how her brother Jason and sister Sookie had come to live here with her. It was so surreal that Marie had tried to pinch herself awake several times with no success.

"So where have you been all this time?" Jason, her brother, asked.

That was a tricky question and to answer it truthfully she would have to out her status as a mutant. "Well, I grew up in Caddelcott, Mississippi. A woman named Irene Adler took care of me. She just died this past month, it was her last wish that I come here." She said carefully.

"So you never knew about us?" Sookie, her sister, asked.

"No, Irene had told me she was my aunt and that both of my parents had died when I was young." She said. Marie couldn't help but think of the pictures Irene had shown her of her supposed parents.

"This Irene lady is the one who kidnapped you then?" Jason asked a twinge of uncertain anger in his voice.

Marie shook her head. "I don't see how. She was blinder then a bat her whole life."

Adele, her 'Gran', clapped a hand over her mouth. "The kidnapper could still be out there."

Marie thought it unlikely that anyone could kidnap her now but decided not to voice that opinion. Not only did she have deadly soul stealing skin but since the accident four years ago, she was now invulnerable and had super strength and flight to boot. Unfortunately the woman she had gotten the powers from was laying brain dead in a hospital in Chicago. The whole incident had been an accident, the woman, Carol, had grabbed her arm and Marie couldn't manage to push her off in time.

"Did she treat you good?" Adele asked, worry clearly written on her face. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jason and Sookie lean in.

"Yeah, she was great." Marie said, feeling sad for the first time since she learned of Irene's death.

Adele didn't look like she wanted to believe it but dropped the subject. They spent a couple more hours talking; well Adele talked while Marie listened. Jason and Sookie both had to leave after the first hour to go to work. Adele explained that Jason worked for the County Road Crew while Sookie was a barmaid at a local place. Marie decided not to comment on their high achievements. Though she wasn't much better, she had only stayed at Xavier's long enough to her diploma and her degree in automotive engineering.

"Will you be staying?" Adele asked. "Here in Bon Temps?"

Marie hadn't actually thought about it. She had moved around so much that she was used to it. But looking at the hope in the woman's eye she couldn't help but think it might be nice to settle down for a while.

"Well, I guess I could." She said with what she hoped was a pleasant smile.

"Would you like to stay here?" she asked. "You can sleep in Jason's old room."

That was a bit too much for her. "I was thinking that if I did stay I'd try to get an apartment or something." She really hoped that didn't sound as rude as she thought it did.

"Oh of course!" Adele said. "You don't know us from someone off the street." And she got up and walked out of the room.

She returned a moment later with a thin yellow phone book. "Now I know Sam Merlotte, owns a couple of duplexes right of the main parish road but there's not many places to rent around here." She said flipping through the phone book.

After a few moments she decided they would just go down to Merlotte's Sam's bar where Sookie also worked, for lunch. While they were there they would see about getting a place for Marie to rent.


	2. Chapter 2

Merlotte's was like any bar she had been to, except this one was a bit more family friendly than most. As soon as she walked in, the thirty something man behind the bar looked up. His eyes first went to Adele and he smiled in a friendly sort of way. Then his eyes landed on Marie and once more surprise shown through, though this time she suspected it wasn't because she was a long lost sister but because of her likeness to Sookie. Again she had to wonder what kind of name Sookie was.

"Mrs. Stackhouse, how are you doing today." He asked pleasantly, his eyes flickering back to Marie.

"I'm doing well as always." She said. "I'd like you to meet my granddaughter Anna-Marie."

He smiled then, understanding the similarities between her and her sister now. "Well here, let me get you two a table." He said and walked out from behind the bar, grabbing two menus on his way.

He led them to a booth and told them Sookie would be along in just a minute to take their order. Marie took a look around the bar before opening her menu. Many of the patrons were giving her curious looks. She hoped if she stayed did end up staying here, that people would get over the resemblance quickly.

The next time she looked up, Sookie was making her way over with a big smile. Looking at her now the similarities were obvious but so were the differences. For one Sookie was blonde, blue eyed and had a sun kissed glow of a tan, while Marie had green eyes, two-toned auburn and white hair and was quite pale. Another difference was that Sookie wasn't quite as fit as Marie, but then again she hadn't lead the life Marie had so it was understandable. They did however both have ample bosom, Sookie probably loved it while Marie always thought it got in her way.

"Hey Gran, Anna-Marie." She said happily. "What can I get y'all?" Marie went with a bacon cheeseburger and coke while her new grandmother decided on a chicken salad sandwich.

While Sookie went to go put their order in Marie turned her head to look out the window into the parking lot. This was all moving so fast. This morning she was reading a letter from who she thought was her biological aunt and now she was having lunch with her real grandmother. It figured her life would turn out like some HBO drama. She was beginning to wonder if maybe she had been too hasty to agree to live here.

Of course it would be a great way to get to know her family better if she were close; emails didn't exactly scream bonding time. But she was so used to being alone that having so many people so close was really starting to freak her out. Could she back out now?

Marie quickly glanced at Adele from the corner of her eye.

No, she decided. She could not get away with backing out now. At least she wouldn't be moving in with them and be around them all the time right out of the gate. She wasn't sure she could stand that. Maybe she could get a job, not that she really needed one with all the money Irene had left her. On a small side track she wondered if Irene had used her mutation to further her wealth with the stock market.

It was about that time that Sookie came back with their drinks and set them on the table. "So what are y'all out doing?" she asked. Marie noted that despite her happy smile, she felt as awkward as Marie felt. Well at least everyone felt weird about this.

"We were going to get Anna-Marie a place here in town." Adele said proudly and gave her a reassuring smile.

Sookie turned her head to her. "Well you know Sam rent's a couple places out." She said. "Let me go ask him if he has any places free." She said and spun on her foot and bounced off to behind the bar. Sookie reminded her lot of Kitty, a girl who had gone to Xavier's with her. She was perky, bubbly and full of life. She had liked Kitty at school and the two still kept in touch.

Marie looked over to Adele to see the older woman looking around at the other patrons carefully. Curious, she glanced around the room herself. No one was paying attention to them. Then Adele turned back to her and looked a little embarrassed. "Can you," she started. "It's just you and Sookie look so much alike." Whatever she wanted to say was apparently very difficult. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sookie coming back over with their food.

"Can you hear others like Sookie can?" she finally managed to say.

A gasp signaled that Sookie had heard the question. "Gran!" she said with shock and glanced at Marie to gauge her reaction.

"So you are a mutant." Marie said in a low voice so as not to draw attention. Mutants, like vampires, weren't very popular among the general public.

Sookie set their plates on the table. "Well, I guess I never really thought as myself as one." She admitted carefully.

Marie decided to take her first leap with her new family. "I'm a mutant too." She said and glanced around to see a large woman with short blonde hair leaning dangerously her chair, trying her best to hear what they were saying. "But maybe we should talk about this later." She said.

Adele whipped around and fixed the woman with a hard glare. "Maxine Fortenberry!" she scolded. "Stop being such a gossip and turn around."

The woman, Maxine, blushed, gave a huff and turned around.

Sookie was still watching Marie carefully. "I get off work around six." She said and Marie could tell she was trying very hard to read her mind. Then she seemed to shake herself and popped back into her happy-go-lucky self. "Oh, Sam said he'd come over before y'all left and talked to you about renting a place." And with that said she was off.

Marie had never admitted being a mutant to anyone but Logan, and that had been years ago. She hadn't wanted anyone's approval in years, but for the first time since she had left home she was worried that her new family, her real family, might not like her. What would they do when they found out she could suck their souls out just by a simple touch. What would they think of her when they found out about what happened to Cody and Carol? Would they make her leave? Maybe she could just stretch the truth a little on how she got Carol's powers. It's not like Sookie could read her mind anyway between the shield her psyches put up and the one the Professor constructed in her mind, all her secrets would remain her own.

She tried to calm herself down and enjoy her burger. It was something the woman at school had always hated about her. She could eat tons and tons of greasy food and never gain a pound. Her eating habits had gotten so legendary by the time of her senior year that Jean had decided to run tests so they could all figure out if it was some genetic inheritance or a part of her mutation. The tests were inconclusive because there really was no kind of medical tests for something so silly.

Marie and Adele had finished their huckleberry cobbler and were getting ready to pay their bill when Sam Merlotte walked over with a smile on his face. "Mrs. Stackhouse." He said to Adele with a friendly nod. "Uh-" he said turning to Marie, not really sure what to call her.

"Anna-Marie is fine." She said. Irene and all the people she knew in Caddelcott had called her Anna. Logan and everyone at Xavier's had called her Marie or Rogue. But this was a new chapter in her life. So from here on out she would go by Anna-Marie, the name her family had called her.

"Anna-Marie," he repeated. "Sookie tells me you were looking for a place in town." He said and she nodded to the affirmative. "Well I've got a couple duplexes down the road if you're interested."

They spent the next couple of minutes talking about prices and various other important things that came with renting out a property. Marie filled out her residency form and Sam told her he'd meet her at the duplex tomorrow morning around nine to give her the key. And that was that. She had a place to live; now all she needed was furniture and a job.

XxX

The next morning found Marie pulling into the parking spot in front of her new house. She supposed if she liked it here she could buy a real house, or hell build a house she had the time and money. It wasn't exactly suburbia, but it did scream Louisiana. As I there was a lot of dead, dried out grass, window air conditioning units and people in yard chairs trying to cool off I the one hundred degree morning air.

"Anna-Marie!" Sam called over from the duplex next to hers. He had apparently been talking to the tenants that lived there. A woman with bottled red hair and a dark haired man with a goatee.

She walked over to the trio trying her best to look friendly. It wouldn't do to make enemies of her neighbors. "I'd like you to meet Arlene and Rene; they'll be your neighbors."

"Oh wow, you weren't kidding Sam, she looks just like Sookie." Arlene said staring at her with wide eyed curiosity.

"What you doing dressed up like that in this heat, chere." Rene asked. He had the same Cajun accent as Ororo's friend had. She had only met him once on the day she had left and used all five minutes of their encounter to lay the flirting on thick. It would be too soon if she ever saw that horn dog again.

She tried her best to blush and look embarrassed. "I have eczema and it tends to freak people out, so I cover up. I'm used to it." She lied. How could anyone get used to being this damn hot all the time?

Arlene gave a playful smack to Rene, trying to lighten the mood. "Oh leave her alone you." She said with a smile. "Well, it'll be good to have you as a neighbor." Arlene said as a small girl with bed hair and a nightgown on came to the door asking for more cereal.

She and Sam walked over to her little slice of paradise where he handed over her key and told her about a few of the neighbors. Small town living, everyone knew everyone else.

Marie took her duffel bag from her car and walked into the empty apartment. The living room was clean and spacious; she followed the hall to the small kitchen/dining room. Further down the hall were two bedrooms that shared a decent sized bathroom. She could definitely get used to having her own space. Now she just needed to fill it with furniture.

She dropped her bag in the master bedroom and returned to the kitchen to find a phonebook next to the fridge. She rifled through it until she came across the listings for local furniture stores. There were plenty in Shreveport to choose from. Maybe, maybe she should invite Sookie along with her. That's what sisters did, right? Go shopping with each other?

She pulled out her phone and dialed Adele and Sookie's home number, neither one had upgraded to a cell phone yet. She waited a few moments until Sookie answered and then she very awkwardly asked Sookie if she would like to go shopping for furniture with her. Sookie gave an enthusiastic yes. Marie suspected it was mainly so she could question her about her mutation, but she figured boundary crossing is what family was all about. Several of her psyches agreed.

It took less than ten minutes for Sookie to pull up. Marie walked out to meet her and grimaced at the sound the jalopy she was driving made. Sookie hoped out of the car with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I know it needs to be fixed."

"I'm pretty good with cars; you want me to take a look?" Marie asked. That's another thing families did for each other, favors, right?

"Oh well, okay." Sookie said uncertainly as she leaned back into her car to pop the hood.

As soon as Marie took a good look the problem was obvious, she just needed some water in her radiator. She unscrewed the top to her water bottle and poured it into the suffering car part. "Let's take my car and give yours a break." Marie suggested.

Sookie agreed and together they climbed into her little blue Honda. The ride to Shreveport started off in uncomfortable silence. Well, until Sookie oh so gracefully broke the ice.

"Why do you always dress like that?" It would be insulting if she were talking about Marie's style of clothing rather than her being constantly covered from head to toe.

She was going to have to get this out of the way at some point. "I have to keep covered because of my mutation." She told her carefully, watching her new sister out of the corner of her eyes for her reaction. "I tell people it's because I have eczema that I keep covered all the time."

Sookie needed to know that if they were going to be sisters.

Sookie was silent for a moment and Marie felt herself being studied. "So what exactly is your power?" she asked.

Marie bit her lip. "It's very complicated, and not much is known about it since no one else has had a mutation like mine before." She stalled, hating to explain just how she sucked souls from others unsuspecting bodies. "My mutation is in my skin; through my skin I can absorb the life force of other people. The absorption renders most on conscious and depending on how long I hold on effects how long they'll be out. In the absorption I gain their memories, personalities and physical abilities. If they are a mutant, or a supe of some kind I gain those powers for a short time as well."

She was on a roll and she couldn't bring herself to look at Sookie to gauge her reaction. "If I hold on too long to a mutant or a supe then I gain their abilities permanently. And everyone I've ever absorbed, an imprint of their psyches stays I my head."

Marie finished and sat I silence while Sookie digested this new information.

She turned off the highway on to the exit for Shreveport. She wasn't really sure where to go after this and hesitated at a stop sign trying to figure out which way would best lead her to furniture.

"Go left." Sookie said. "There's an outlet mall just a head."

Marie nodded and followed the directions of her older sister. She still didn't dare to look over at Sookie. Well, until she felt her reassuring hand on her shoulder. Marie finally turned to look and saw she was smiling at her. Okay first couple of awkward moments with the new family down, only a lifetime more to go.

**A/N**

**I would like to say thank you to all the reviews I've gotten so far. I do appreciate hearing what you think of my writing and my ideas; the fact that they are all positive reviews is just a bonus. I would like to say that I don't like the Bill/Sookie pairing much either nor a Bill/Rogue pairing. Though I do like Eric with either one of them. I'm not sure exactly where I'll go in the romantic portion of this just yet. Please continue to review as it does fuel my fire to get these out faster.**


	3. Chapter 3

Marie and Sookie spent the rest of the afternoon buying furniture and other goods that were needed to fill a house. They even got a few new outfits and two smoothies. The drive back to Bon Temps was much friendlier and less awkward then the drive to Shreveport. The talked about their powers quite a bit. Some of the stories Sookie told of the things people thought had Marie snorting in her laughter. Marie told Sookie about Mutant High and some of her friends that were there. She left out some of her more dangerous encounters while under the Professor's roof.

Sookie also told her of the Vampire Bill Compton she had been seeing. Marie wasn't sure what to think of this at first, but decided that if her dear older sister was into necrophilia it wasn't any of her damn business. Besides, vampires were people once too if the romantic problems Sookie was having with Bill were any indication. It wasn't often you came across a romantically awkward vampire.

It was when Marie finally pulled into her driveway around five-thirty that Sookie decided to invite her to some sort of town event.

"Hey," she said as she moved her store bags to her car. "Why don't you come to the Community Building tonight with me? Gran's Descendants of the Glorious Dead is having Bill speak about how he fought in Civil War."

Marie wasn't exactly sure where to start. "Descendants of the Glorious Dead?" she asked.

Sookie had a laugh that sounded like bells in church. "It's sort of like a club for Civil War buffs."

Marie thought about it. She wasn't much of a group activity kind of person. But then again she was turning over a new leaf as Anna-Marie. She bit her lip as she debated with herself. The pro that she could wear her new outfit finally tipping the scales for her. "Sure, when is it?" she asked loading her own arms with bags.

Sookie looked down at her watch, surprise momentarily lighting up her features. "I didn't realize it was so late, it starts at seven-thirty."

Marie shut her back door. "How about I pick you up at your house and we can grab something to eat afterward?"

"Sounds good to me." She chirped and after saying their goodbyes, she hopped back into her car a drove away. She gave Marie a thumbs up when the awful grinding noise was no longer present.

XxX

Marie pulled up to the house at seven-ten and hoped out of the car. She was wearing her new expensive jeans that jubilee would never get her hands on and a lightweight purple wraparound top. Sookie ran out of the door before she could even get to the stairs. She was wearing a pretty blue sundress. She had discovered that her older sister was very fond of sundresses.

"Let's hurry, Gran wanted to introduce you to a few of her friends before everything started." She said.

Marie tried to repress her grimace and followed Sookie back to her car. Maybe it won't be so bad. The psyche of one Katharine Pryde decided to push a memory of hers to the forefront of Marie's mind. It was a memory of a Thanksgiving dinner when Kitty was eleven and was passed around from one overweight aunt to the next. No, this wouldn't be bad at all.

Before she knew it they were walking into the crowded building and people left and right were greeting Sookie and giving her odd looks. Finally they came across Adele talking to an ancient looking man who Sookie said was the Mayor.

"Sookie, Anna-Marie." Adele called and waved them over. "Anna-Marie, I'd like you to meet Mr. Sterling Norris, he's the Mayor of Bon Temps and a close family friend. He and your Grandfather had been friends since they were little."

The older man grabbed her gloved hand and shook it. "I sure am glad you came back safe." He said.

Marie didn't really know what to say. But as it turns out she wasn't required to say anything as Mr. Norris moved on to Sookie. "Is it true that this vampire is a friend of yours?"

"Yes sir." She said.

"In my time such a thing was a fairy tale."

Marie tuned out and looked around the room. Many people had turned out to hear Vampire Bill, as many had started calling him, speak. Had these people never seen a vampire before? In the mutant world Vampires and other Supernaturals were old news. There was a pack of were's that used the back forty acres of the Professor's land every full moon and in return they did a lot of business with the Professor without any questions.

One particular love struck pup and invited her to his father's garage several times where she had learned everything she knew about cars and motorcycles.

Finally it was time for Vampire Bill to speak and everyone took their seats. Sookie looked like someone had shoved a nightstick up her ass, she was sitting so ramrod straight in her fold-up-chair. Marie had learned that her and Bill were at odds since last night when they had had a sort of fight about her always asking him out and then getting mad when she didn't beg her to stay with him. It all sounded ridiculous to her but it was their relationship so she would just nod and smile.

A moment of silence signaled that Bill had taken the stage. Marie turned her attention from her new sister to the Vampire. As far as vampires went he was rather glum compared to most. Marie tried not to judge but he didn't look cute in the least. He looked like he had never cracked a smile, alive or dead. And then he started talking and Marie had to refrain from heaving a sigh.

The night seemed to drag on and on as he told of the horrors of the Civil War. It was more like a lecture then anything and Marie had to fight with every ounce of will not to fall asleep. Lectures given by Scott were more thrilling then this.

The sound of a thunderous applause signaled that this hell was finally over; apparently his retelling of his human life was a wondrous success. Marie knew she was being a bit overdramatic, but she had had to rein in a lot of sarcasm the last couple of days. It was probably just one more thing she would have to get used to, or maybe her new family could get used to it. It seemed only fair that they know the real her anyway.

After Vampire Bill finished speaking, it seemed that everyone wanted to talk to him one on one. So she and Sookie snuck out after telling Adele that they were going to grab a bite to eat. Sookie directed her to the Crawdad Diner and they had burgers and pie. Marie had a slice of pie too that Sookie looked at longingly but refused to take a bite.

They got back later then Marie because Sookie had insisted she spend the night till her furniture was delivered tomorrow morning. From the front yard they could see an upstairs light on, Sookie said it was Gran probably waiting up for them.

As soon as they entered in through the front door Marie knew something was wrong. One glance told her that Sookie knew it too. It was that coppery smell of blood.

"Sookie, stay here." She said and put her gloved hand on her sister's shoulder. Sookie looked ready to argue but Marie gave her a look that left no room for discussion.

She flipped the light on in the living room and gave it a cursory look around. The smell of blood was strong so whatever it was had to be close. She passed Sookie and went to the kitchen, the scent growing stronger still. Marie took a moment to ready herself and flipped on the light.

There she was on the floor in a pool of blood, the grandmother she had only known for two days. Marie didn't have to check her pulse to know, her blank eyes said it all. Adele Stackhouse was dead.

Marie took a deep breath before pulling her phone out to dial the police. It only took a second to explain the situation; the operator said someone was on the way. She slowly backed out of the kitchen and returned to Sookie who was fidgeting and looking around herself helplessly.

"Well?" she asked.

"Let's move out onto the front porch." Marie said and took Sookie by the shoulders and began leading her out.

Sookie turned notably paler and struggled in Marie's grasp. "Where's Gran? Her car is here and her light is on so where is she?" she demanded digging her feet into the old hard wood floor.

"Sookie, please." Marie started but Sookie wrenched herself free and ran to the kitchen.

Marie stood for a minute but followed shortly after Sookie began to scream. It was even worse than she imagined. Sookie stood in the middle of the kitchen screaming, tears running down her face. This is exactly what Marie wanted to avoid.

No longer giving her an option, Marie wrapped her arms around Sookie and pulled her out onto the front porch just as Vampire Bill showed up, fangs beard. He paused for a moment to take in the situation and retracted his fangs. Marie finally managed to set Sookie on the porch swing just as the sheriff's patrol car and another car came into sight.

"What happened?" Bill asked as he walked up on to the porch to sit next to Sookie.

There was some high pitched garbled response from Sookie; bill looked to Marie for an answer. "Someone killed our Grandmother." The word still felt awkward on her lips.

A small old man in a sheriff's hat moseyed on up to the porch followed by a middle aged man with a gut and a balding head. "Well who wants to tell me what happened here."

Marie decided it was best if Sookie had a moment to herself so she could calm down. She left Vampire Bill to console her sister because he did know her better than she did, and walked down to where the sheriff and what she assumed, his detective stood.

"I'm the one who called." She began but was cut off by the fat man.

"And who are you?" he interrupted rudely.

Marie held back the sharp look she intended to give him. "I'm Anna-Marie Darkholme." She said but paused. "Well, I guess I'm a Stackhouse."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the detective asked rudely.

"That's right; you're Corbett and Michelle's girl that went missing." The Sheriff said to which she just nodded her head. "All right so what happened here."

"Me and Sookie came back here and I found Adele in the kitchen then I called y'all." She explained, sending a glance down to Sookie. It appeared she had calmed down enough and was on the phone. From what she could hear, she was talking to Jason.

"Well, let's take a look Andy." He said and walked into the house.

Marie decided to ignore the suspicious look the detective gave her and walked back over to Sookie. She looked up as Marie stopped in front of her. "I called Jason; he was at Merlotte's. He's on his way." She said and gave a little sniffle.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment as they watched the medical examiners truck pull in. two minutes later Jason pulled in followed by Sam Merlotte. Both rushed up the porch to comfort Sookie. Sam looked a bit awkward with bill around. According to Sookie they were romantic rivals.

The Sheriff and Detective Andy came out after half an hour and motioned for Marie and Sookie to come to them. The Sheriff took Sookie to the other end of the porch while Detective Andy led Marie out into the yard.

"Tell me exactly what happened." He demanded gruffly with his notepad and pen out.

"Sookie invited me to stay the night until my furniture arrived tomorrow morning. But when we came in something was wrong. I realized I was smelling blood and told Sookie to wait by the door while I went to find out what happened." She said looking down to take a breath. "First I checked the living room and then the kitchen. After I found her I called the police."

Detective Andy finished writing in his notepad and looked back up at Marie. "How long had you known Mrs. Stackhouse?"

Marie didn't think knowing her for her first couple of months of life counted. "Two days I guess." She said, wishing she had gotten to know her grandmother better. Adele had seemed really excited to get to know her.

Detective Andy narrowed his eyes at her. "If she really was your Grandmother then you'd have known her longer than two days."

Marie was getting real tired of this asshole's attitude and the more he opened his mouth the closer she got to giving him a piece of her mind. "I was kidnapped when I was a baby." She said slowly, fixing the detective with a steady gaze. "I didn't even know about them till the woman who raised me sent me a letter on her death bed asking that I come here."

The detective made a noise in his throat. "So your kidnapper felt guilty before her death and sent you here?" clearly he didn't believe a word coming from her mouth.

"I doubt Irene's the one who took me, she was blind from birth." Marie muttered.

"I'll be needing your information so I can verify all this." He said. Marie tried really hard to not roll her eyes, but failed. She gave him her new address, her number and Irene's information.

"If that's all, I'd like to clean the kitchen up before Sookie goes back in." she said glancing over her shoulder at the house.

"That's another thing, why aren't you more upset about this whole mess?"

Marie turned back around to face Detective Andy with a look on her face that made him scowl. "I've only known Adele for two days." She said as though it were obvious because in fact it was. And with that she turned on her heel and left.

She walked past Sookie and the Sheriff and into the kitchen. Adele had been removed and there were bloody footprints all over the floor. With a sigh she went over to the sink and found a bucket in the cabinet underneath. She filled it with hot soapy water and threw a rag in it. She took her gloves of and placed it on the counter, rolled up her sleeves and started scrubbing.

Forty-five minutes later the kitchen was spotless and Marie was exhausted. She put everything away, put her gloves back on and went outside with everyone else. What she saw when she stepped out on the front porch did not impress her.

Jason was on the ground sobbing with Sam sitting next to him. Bill was standing between them and Sookie with his fangs bared. Sookie was standing back holding her cheek looking shocked and close to tears. And the Sheriff and the dumbass detective were making their way over to the whole confrontation. Marie heaved out a long suffering sigh and walked over to them all. It was time for everyone to leave.

She passed the two outstanding officers who didn't seem too concerned with breaking it all up. She grabbed Jason by the arm and hauled him to his feet, leading him to his truck; she shoved him in the driver's seat.

"Look, I know we just met." She said resisting the urge to smack him. "But you need to man the fuck up."

Jason stopped blubbering to stare at her hopelessly. "But Gran's dead." He sounded so pathetic that Marie didn't know if she should hug him or slap him.

"And now you're the head of this family." She said taking a gentler tone with him. "Go home and rest, come by tomorrow afternoon."

He nodded so Marie shut the door and watched him drive off. If this shit kept up the baby of the family would end up running it. Shaking her head she walked back over to where Sookie was trying her best not to cry, Bill was awkwardly trying to comfort her and Sam was talking to Detective Dumbass and the Sheriff. Sookie looked up when Marie finally made it over to her. "Thank you." She said her voice sounded like it might just break.

"Let's get you in bed." She said and pulled her away from everyone. She turned around and thanked everyone for their help, a clear dismissal, and led her older, brokenhearted sister, up the steps and into her house.

After finally getting Sookie into her bed, Marie was exhausted. She went through the house locking up the doors and windows and shutting off lights. When she was done with that, she went into the living room, kicked off her shoes and passed out. She had to be up in three hours to meet the delivery men at her house. Sookie wouldn't be up by then; she'd pick up some lunch for her and Jason after that.

Having a family was too much trouble.

**A/N**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it. I think I have a good idea of who I want to pair up with whom. Sorry but there will be no Rogue/Logan pairings. And while I do like his character I don't think I will be writing him into the story.**


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a month since Adele had died and Marie was seriously considering going back on the road again. Here she had to worry about some nut job trying to kill people who were getting too friendly with vampires. Not to mention the town people in general who wanted to question her about her disappearance constantly and mistake her for her sister Sookie. And then there was the fact that Detective Dumbass was sure that Jason was the psychopath. On the road she just had to worry about flirty truckers and the occasional psychopath.

Wandering across the country was starting to look more and more appealing every day.

But that wouldn't do at all. She had just gotten a job at a motorcycle shop in town. The owner, Tray Dawson, had been very impressed by her references from the Pack Leader of Westchester. As it turned out, Tray was a werewolf too. He had wanted to expand his garage to repair cars as well but hadn't found anyone yet that stood up to his standards as a mechanic and human being. Well until Marie had strolled in.

Currently, Marie was getting dressed to go over to her sister's house for lunch. Sookie had called her an hour ago to say she had something she wanted to talk to Marie about and to invite her to lunch. So far neither of her newfound siblings had asked her for anything and that was just fine. But at the thought that Sookie needed something from her was exciting, she wanted to do something for her because that's what families did, or so the psyches in her head told her.

With that last thought, she exited her home and hopped into her car. She waved to Arlene and Rene who were both out smoking in their lawn chairs and pulled out onto the street.

It took five minutes to get to her sister's house, the one their grandmother had left her in her will. She stepped out of her car and made her way up to the front door. It took only a moment and Sookie opened the door to invite her inside. The inside looked pretty much the same as it did when she first walked into this house last month. She followed Sookie into the kitchen where she had set out plates with chicken salad sandwiches on them.

It was after they had finished eating and were sitting in the living room that Sookie decided to get to why she had asked Marie to come. She told Marie of the vampire club Fangtasia in Shreveport and how the Vampire Sheriff of Area Five had pretty much demanded her presence. She told her of her previous encounter with Eric Northman, the Sheriff, and how he knew of her telepathic abilities.

"Sookie," Marie started, trying not to sound exasperated. "You never want to let a vampire or regular human know of your mutation." Sookie looked properly ashamed of herself. "I'm not saying every vampire will try to take advantage of you, but the live with a different set of rules then the rest of us. And especially since you are a telepath, there's always a high demand for telepaths in all societies."

"It was an accident that Eric found out." Sookie said. "But what I wanted to ask was if you'd go with me, to Shreveport."

Marie hesitated; she did not want to get wrapped up in vampire affaires. "I thought Bill was going with you." She said.

"He is, but I'd feel better if you were there too. I know vampires can't bite you, and if need be you could fight them." She said referring to Carol's mutation. Marie had told Sookie about Carol and Cody after the funeral.

Marie was silent. The last thing she needed was for vampire's to know about her primary mutation. "I'll go with you on the condition that you don't tell anyone about me being able to absorb." She said very seriously. "It's caused me all sorts of problems with mutants. The last thing I want is to get all wrapped up with vampires."

Sookie sighed. "Okay, I won't tell anyone." She finally agreed.

"Not even Bill."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Not even Bill, I promise."

Marie smiled at her older sister. "Alright so what time are we going?"

"Just be here before sunset." Sookie said. They spent the rest of the visit talking about what to wear and about what they might encounter while at the cheesy named bar.

XxX

Marie sat on the edge of Sookie's bed while she waited for her sister to finish dressing. Marie had chosen her favorite blue jeans, a green scoop necked shirt and her favorite gloves. When Sookie came out of her bathroom she was wearing jeans and a pale blue scoop neck short sleeved tee. They looked like twins and by Sookie's smile Marie knew she thought it was cute. Unfortunately she knew the vampires would think it was just darling too.

One look out the window told her it was too late.

As Sookie turned to her closet and pulled out a light scarf, Marie could see the fang marks left from Bill on her neck. She didn't know how she felt about that, or if she should have an opinion at all really. Her relationship with Sookie and Jason was still new so she figured it would be better to keep most of her opinions to herself. It sure would suck if she pushed either one of them away.

Marie was brought from her thoughts when she heard the doorbell ring. She followed Sookie to the front door, where she opened it to reveal Vampire Bill.

"You've changed." He told Sookie as she stepped out of the house.

"Do you really think so?" she asked with a worried expression. She turned to Marie. "What do you think?"

Marie took a good look at her sister. "Your hair is blonder." she said and tilted her head. "And your skin is brighter."

"Anna-Marie." Bill said with a polite nod of his head. "Sookie tells me you have." He paused for a moment to find the right word. "A gift as well. Can you read the minds of humans like Sookie?"

"No." Marie said with a sly smile. "But I'm bullet proof and I can bench press a tank."

"And she can fly too." Sookie added.

Bill looked a bit put off at this. Vampires didn't like being around other beings that could hold ground with them. He looked down at her clothing, taking in her long sleeves and gloves. With a sinking feeling she knew that Bill was wondering if that was her only mutation. Vampires were too damn clever for their own good.

The drive to Shreveport was quiet with Bill and Sookie making polite small talk with her. Marie for the most part tuned them out. Bill's reaction to her clothing was a red flag. If he was suspicious about her mutation then this Eric Northman would be too. She dreaded them finding out about her power. Of course they couldn't really force her to do anything against her will. Well until they threatened Jason or Sookie, there was always a downside to something that made her this happy.

Before she knew it they had pulled into the parking lot of Fangtasia. She followed Bill and Sookie to the front door where Bill gave the secret vampire knock. From the empty parking lot and lack of fangbangers, she would guess that they would have closed the bar down for the night.

A woman with long blonde hair teased up big answered the door. Marie was sure the woman hadn't smiled a day in her life, or afterlife for that matter. She ushered them in to the empty club that was so over the top cliché, Marie thought she might gag.

"Nice hair." The blonde commented with a smirk.

"Nice dress." She shot back, receiving a hard look from Bill. Apparently she didn't like to dress up like the vampire's bride because she frowned and walked past her.

Leaning against the bar was a beautiful tall blonde man talking to a man with braided hair standing behind the bar. Sookie hung back a little to tell her that the bartender was a vampire named Long Shadow and that the tall blonde was Eric Northman, the Sheriff.

Eric looked up as they came closer.

"So lovely to see you again Sookie." Eric said with a charming smile, completely ignoring Bill. This of course caused Bill to scowl. Another reason to avoid vampires was that they were so dam territorial.

Eric turned his eyes from Sookie to Marie. "This is my younger sister Anna-Marie." Sookie said introducing the two.

Eric gave her the same charming smile. "Yes, Bill mentioned that you were bringing her." He said distractedly while he took in every inch of Marie. "Tell me, do you have the same amazing abilities as your sister."

"No." Marie said bluntly, unimpressed with him.

He gave her another once over. "Well you can certainly do something." He said and his eyes traveled up to the white streak in her hair. Something passed behind his eyes but he turned away before Marie could decipher what he was thinking. Marie never should have agreed to come.

It was then that Marie noticed a quivering little balding man sitting at one of the tables. Eric pulled out the chair opposite the man for Sookie to sit. Bill looked like he would have liked to stand behind her but stood near the bar instead. Marie stood next to the blonde who she had heard called Pam.

"Sookie, listen to Bruce." Sookie frowned and took the man's hand. "Someone has embezzled sixty thousand dollars from the club and I want you to find out who." He said.

She nodded and turned back to Bruce who was sweating bullets. "He didn't do it." She said turning to Eric.

He gave a nod to Pam who hauled poor Brucey to his feet and shoved him out of the front door. She then went to the back of the club and brought out another human. This went on for about half an hour before Pam brought out a stick of a woman with too much makeup and not enough clothes.

"Sookie, meet Ginger." Eric said and Ginger smiled up at him like a love sick puppy.

Sookie went to hold the woman's hand but she snatched it away and sent her a hard glare. "Pam, hold Ginger." Eric said not in the mood to deal with humans and their silly sense of personal space.

Pam happily obliged causeing Ginger to wince in her grip. Sookie grabbed a hold of her wrist and she received a nasty scowl from Ginger. Sookie began her questioning once more. It had become apparent to Marie that her sister could only hear the surface thoughts of humans, but couldn't sort through minds like other telepaths.

"Did you take the money?"

"Fuck you." Ginger spat.

Marie rolled her eyes; it was hard to take someone that damn skinny as a serious threat. But Sookie had a curious look on her face as she studied Ginger. "Do you know who took the money?"

Ginger looked confused. "No."

Realization dawned on Sookie and she turned to Eric. "She's been glamoured." She said turning back to Ginger. "Ginger, I need you to think real hard of the vampire responsible." She said.

Ginger took on the funniest look of concentration that it took all Marie had not to laugh out loud.

But the impulse to laugh was suddenly gone when Sookie turned her head to Long Shadow. It happened so fast that Marie's head spun. One second Long Shadow was behind the bar and the next he was on top of Sookie trying to rip her throat out, Ginger screaming for all she was worth on the floor behind them.

Marie didn't even think as she rushed forward and ripped the vampire off her sister. She threw him back behind the bar, causing the mirror to shatter into a million pieces. But that didn't deter the Native American for long as he was up and trying to rip out her throat now. It was clear that Marie was stronger than him once she had him pinned to the floor.

"Keep it up buddy and I'll stake you." She told the snarling vampire beneath her. He didn't hear her as he kept trying to bite her and get some kind of hold on her.

When she looked up Sookie was propped up on the table breathing hard and incredibly pale. Bill was beside her, the leg of a chair he intended as a stake, held loosely in his hand. Ginger was still screaming and Pam looked like she'd love nothing more than to break her neck. Eric was standing in the same spot he'd been in all night, with a smirk Marie would have loved to slap off his face.

"I wouldn't have expected that." Pam said after Ginger had stopped screaming.

Marie ignored her and turned to Eric. "What do you want me to do with him?" she asked.

Eric was still studying her intently with that amused smile. "Release him." He said. "Long Shadow won't attack again."

Marie eyed him and then the struggling vampire beneath her. It wasn't like he could hurt her and if he made to attack Sookie again Bill would stake him. She got up off of him and like a bolt of lightning he was up and out the door. Hopefully they would never see him again.

"Tell me Sookie, can your brother levitate things with his mind?" Eric asked, his eyes never leaving Marie. She resisted the urge to scowl back at him, but just barely.

"No, he's as normal as they come." She said shakily.

"Bill, why don't you take Sookie to go get cleaned up?" he said, a clear dismissal.

Bill didn't look comfortable about leaving Marie alone with them but left without a look back.

Marie straightened her clothes that had gotten tussled in the scuffle, trying to busy herself. When she looked back up Eric was still watching her curiously and Pam was glamouring Ginger who had a goofy smile on her face.

"I seem to recall a story of a girl with a white stripe in her hair and how she had been involved in the Liberty Island Incident." He said and it took everything she had not to tense her muscles. "I can't remember what power she held, though I'm certain she didn't have super strength."

Marie gave a mirthless half smile. "I guess there must be someone else out there with a white stripe in their hair." She said.

His eyebrows rose. "Oh of course." He said.

The conversation didn't continue as Bill and Sookie came back out, Sookie looking far better than when she left. Bill escorted her over to Marie. "If that is all you require tonight, we will take our leave." He said and with that he led Sookie back to his car.

Marie followed him out and only glanced back once. Though she had saved her sisters life, she really shouldn't have let her talking her into coming here tonight.

**A/N**

**Alright, this chapter is done! Please don't expect new chapters to be posted every day. I get in the bad habit of getting my readers hopes up when I get in the mood to write. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed it, please leave a review of the chapter as I do like know what you all think.**


	5. Chapter 5

Marie walked into Merlotte's around one the next afternoon. After Bill had driven them back to Sookie's, Marie had hopped in her car and didn't look back. She had been dog tired and fell into bed and not moved until the next morning. She still didn't know what she would do if the vampires found out her ability. It was an unspoken rule amongst mutants not to out themselves to the manipulative and mostly corrupt vampires. And abilities like hers only came around once. She was invaluable to the mutant community, priceless to the humans; she feared her worth in a vampire's eyes.

She ordered a beer as she passed the bar and took a seat in Sookie's section. It wasn't long before Arlene walked by with a tray full of food and gave her a friendly smile. Arlene had just recently gotten engaged to her boyfriend Rene, and since then she had taken every opportunity to show off her engagement ring to everyone. Sookie had told Marie that this was her fifth marriage. She couldn't help but wonder what Arlene was like during her first engagement.

Once Arlene had given the table their food she rushed over to Marie's table. "We're having the engagement party here, tomorrow night." She said with a wide, ecstatic smile. "I know its last minute but you can make it right?"

"Sure thing." Marie said. "Y'all need help with anything?"

Arlene put her hand on Marie's shoulder. "Oh just show up around six and you can help with set up." and with that said, Arlene was off to wait more tables.

Sookie came by a moment later with her beer. Marie didn't know Sookie well enough to tell her mood by sight, but anyone could see she was upset. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Sookie took a seat at her table. "The killer broke into my house again last night." She said.

Marie gave Sookie a quick look over. She appeared to be alright. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head no. "He came while we were in Shreveport." She gave a little sniffle. "He killed my cat and took the head with him."

Marie made a face. "Why would he take the head?" it probably wasn't the most relevant bit of information they could have discussed. But truthfully she just couldn't think of what anyone would do with the head of a cat.

"I don't know." She said giving Marie a look.

Marie at least had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed.

Sookie looked over her shoulder. "Oh great, my day just couldn't get any worse."

Marie turned around to see Detective Dumbass walk in, look around, and head straight for their table. By the look on his face he wanted to hound them about the murders again. It wasn't enough that he drug Jason into the station every other day, now he had to bother them everywhere. Sheriff Dearborn had actually come into the shop yesterday to question her about Jason.

"I wanna talk to you." He said, pointing to Anna-Marie with unwarranted hostility.

She raised one eyebrow; Marie was becoming less and less amused by this bumbling idiot every time she saw him. "Then please talk." She said with a scowl. "It's not like you've been dragging my family into the station every other day or hounding us while we are at work. So please ruin my lunch with your pointless questioning."

Marie knew she shouldn't have given him attitude but it was worth it to see him blush. "Well, I guess it can wait until after you finish." He said and made to go away.

"No please, you've already intruded. You might as well get this over with." The bite her voice had taken on made him and several others who were listening in around them wince. It made her feel slightly better that Sookie was glaring at him just as hard as she was.

Detective Dumbass bowed his head and mumbled something that made Sookie scowl. "Why don't you just say what you came to say Andy Bellefleur." She practically spat.

His nostrils flared at the fact that two women were ganging up on him and turned to face Marie. "I did some checking up on you." He said and opened up a thin folder he brought in with him. "No one's seen you in ten years. And half the people in Caddelcott think you're responsible for putting Cody Robbins into a coma."

"Cody had a stroke or a brain aneurism when we were twelve and I ran away because his psychotic mother blamed it on me and convinced half the town. When I was fifteen Irene sent me to a boarding school in Westchester." She said trying not to grit her teeth.

"Ill be needing contact information for this school." He said gruffly with an ugly look on his face.

Marie recited the Professor's number for him. "Look that's the last of this. You need to stop harassing us now." She said finally fed up with the Bon Temps Police Department.

Detective Dumbass turned an ugly shade of purple. "It's my job to investigate these murders and you're looking more suspicious by the day."

Marie had the intense urge to drain him, just to see if he was fucking with them. "You're joking; I wasn't even in the state for the first two murders."

Detective Dumbass gave a derisive snort. "So you say, but can you prove it."

"Yes, yes I can. I have receipts from motels and the ticket stubs for the greyhound I took down here." She said folding her arms over her chest.

All Detective Dumbass could do was glare at her. "You Stackhouse's are hiding something and I'm gonna find out what it is." And with that he stomped over to one of Arlene's tables and sat down.

"It starting to look like Jason might be arrested." Sookie said and Marie could almost feel the heaviness in her heart.

"Maybe we should get a lawyer." She said, sliding a glance to Andy.

"I know I can't afford one, Jason might be able to, he said he was going to talk to Sid Matt Lancaster sometime this week." She said offhandedly.

Sookie then proceeded to tell Marie that Mr. Lancaster was considered a bulldog in the courtroom and was the best criminal lawyer in the state. Marie thought about it for a minute and then decided if this got any worse she would spring for the lawyer. Sookie argued this but Marie made the point that she could afford it without going broke.

Marie was finishing her bacon cheeseburger when a new waitress came up to her with an excited smile on her face. "Hi I'm Amy." She said as she crossed one leg over the other.

"Hi Amy." She said uncertainly. Did Sam start some kind of outreach program for special adults?

"Oh, I'm dating your brother Jason." She said.

"Congratulations?" What the hell did this woman want?

Amy donned a light blush. "I was hoping we could be friends." She said expectantly.

"Sure thing." Marie said and laid down the money for her bill plus a tip for Sookie. With one last look back at the odd Amy she walked out of the door.

XxX

Marie checked her outfit in the mirror one more time. She had put on her new green dress that she had picked up when she went shopping with Sookie in Shreveport a month ago. The skirt was short, shorter then she normally preferred, but the sleeves were long and the neck hung on her shoulders loosely. She matched a pair of black silk gloves with some black high heels Jubilee had made her buy years ago. Her hair had been styled in loose curls down her back and her makeup was light so it wouldn't take away from the dress.

There were certain advantages to having her own personal stylists fighting over what looked best on her inside her head. Though it would be nice if they didn't comment on every little thing she wore.

She gave her reflection a smile before grabbing her keys and purse and heading out the door. She hopped into her car and drove off into the night smiling like an idiot. It was when she was taking one of the many country roads to get to the highway that her mood vanished, in a puff of smoke

There in the middle of the deserted road was Vampire Bill, Sheriff Eric and his posse. As she pulled to a stop, the scowl on her face faltered. There, behind Bill, Eric, Pam and some Japanese vampire, was what looked like an undead Elvis, sucking on a cat.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and put her car in park. Marie took a breath so as to calm herself. It wouldn't do at all if she provoked them into a fight. She opened her door and stepped out.

"Can I help you?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Bill stepped forward, looking as pained as he always looked. "I need to ask a favor of you." He started. "We must meet with the Queen and I am uncertain of how long I will be gone. I ask that you watch over Sookie in my absence as I know that you are capable of protecting her."

"She's survived all these years without your help. I think she'll be fine." Marie said. Sookie wasn't the most hardened warrior she had ever met, but she wasn't an invalid either.

"There's a killer after her." He argued.

"Fine." She bit out.

"Bubba, will watch over her at night." He said moving to the side so she could see 'Bubba' who had thrown his empty cat to the ground and was giving her a half smile.

"Right." She said with a raised eyebrow.

The Asian vampire on the other side of Pam had a predatory look on his face as he gave her the once over. He wasn't exactly bad looking himself, especially with all the intricate blue tattoos. The Psyche of Shiro Yoshida informed her that they were tattoos given to certain members of the Yakuza.

"Already found Long Shadow's replacement?" she asked.

"Anna-Marie, meet Chow." Pam said. Marie noticed that Pam was staring at her with the same hunger that Chow was. "Are you going on a date? You look delicious."

"I'm meeting a friend for dinner." She said, not wanting to give away too much information. The last thing she wanted was for them to follow her to Monroe to meet Ororo.

She had been excited when Ororo called her up that afternoon to say she was driving down to New Orleans and wanted to know if she wanted to meet up with her for dinner. Marie had quickly agreed to drive down to Monroe for dinner. Truthfully, she missed being at the mansion with all the hustle and bustle. Maybe she would visit after Christmas, for New Year's.

"If that's all you want," she said looking between them all. She frowned when she saw that Eric was studying her again. "I'll be going now."

Bill nodded and without a goodbye all five vampires had disappeared into the night.

Marie rolled her eyes and got back in her car, deciding to ignore the whole encounter for the rest of the night. She had a restaurant to get to and she prayed that no other vampires stopped her on her way.

XxX

Ororo had told her to dress nice, luckily Marie had thought she was over dressed when she left the house or she would have been underdressed. She pulled up to the valet and stepped out. The poor kid looked star struck when she walked passed him and into the restaurant. The host led her to a table by the window where Ororo sat, looking like the Goddess she was.

Ororo was probably the most exotic thing Louisiana had ever seen.

"Rogue." She said, standing up to envelop her in a hug. "I have missed you child."

It was so good to see someone so familiar that Marie couldn't help the smile that took over her face as they both sat down.

"How are you, how's everyone at the school?" she asked excitedly before taking a drink of her ice water.

"I am well though the others have all missed you a great deal." She said with a serene smile. "This is the first time in three years anyone has seen you."

Marie opened her mouth but Ororo cut her off in a stern voice. "Even Logan is around more then you have been."

"I was thinking of coming up after Christmas, for New Year's maybe." She said and couldn't help the smile as Ororo's face lit up.

"That would be wonderful, I will make sure there is a room for you." She said and then her smile took on a sly quality. "Do you remember my friend, Remy, who came to visit before you left?"

How could she forget? She had never heard so many pickup lines in such a short period of time. "Yeah?" she hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was going.

"He was very taken with you." Marie was sure he was taken with everyone else above the age of consent too. "He has visited many more times since then to see if you have returned."

"Gee, isn't that nice." She said feigning flattery rather pathetically.

"I know he can come on a little strong," she started.

"A little?"

Storm smiled. "Well, anyway, why don't you tell me about your family?"

Marie pulled out a photo Arlene had taken of her Sookie and Jason at the par one night. Sookie was in her uniform as she had been working that night. Jason and she had been sitting at the bar when Arlene had grouped them together for their first family picture.

Ororo commented on how cute Jason was before Marie began telling of her of the last month. She told about Adele's murder, Sookie's telepathy and vampire boyfriend. How the local law enforcement was hounding them all and convinced Jason was the murderer. She also confessed her fear that the local vampire sheriff knew there was more to her mutation then what she had shared.

In return Ororo reminded her that she was always had a place to stay. She told Marie of small events that had happened around the mansion, new students and a handful of new teachers. She then told her of an offer from Professor Xavier himself.

"Why would he want me to get a teaching degree?" Marie asked as she picked at her stake.

She knew that some students stayed on to become teachers, or part time teachers. Honestly she had never really thought she fit into that category.

"He will pay for the schooling. The school is growing larger by the day; we've already had to expand twice. It would be a relief to the rest of us to know you were on retainer." She explained.

She did owe a whole heck of a lot to the people there. "Alright, can I go to school down here or do I need to come back to Westchester?"

"I'm sure you can stay down here with your family, The Professor will call you to set up details."

The rest of the night was spent in gossip about the occupants of the mansion. Ororo was certain that Jean was pregnant but didn't know it yet. Marie confessed that Kitty and Piotr were dating on the sly. Storm began talking fondly of the new computer and technology teacher, Forge, leading Marie to believe that the resident weather witch might have feelings for the technological savvy mutant.

After paying their bill they headed outside to talk in front of the restaurant, each putting off the inevitable of not seeing each other for the next couple of months. Out of the corner of her eye, Marie saw a man approach but didn't pay much attention as they were standing right next to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Stormy." The man who had been walking their way called.

'Stormy' turned around with a playful scowl on her face. "How many times must I remind you not to call me Stormy?"

Marie looked over her friend's shoulder to see the smooth talking Cajun. She had the distinct feeling that she had been set up.

"You remember Rogue." Ororo said as she moved out of the way.

The Cajuns eyes lit up, literally, the strange red on black eyes actually started glowing as he took her in. "Chere, a pleasure seeing you again."

Marie tried not to frown at Ororo's friend. "You too." She said before turning back toward Storm. "I'll try to make it up for a visit sometime soon." She promised and leant in to give her a hug before walking back to her car.

It took every last ounce of self-control not to turnaround and demand that he stop staring at her ass. At least dinner with Ororo went well.

**A/N**

**I appear to be losing my muse for this fic. It took everything I had just to finish this chapter and not start on something else.**


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